Political science

Struggles against patriarchy and Jim Crow: their incompatibility with corporate profitability

Article Abstract:

Socialists generally agree that capitalism gave rise to gender and racial exploitation and discrimination. They, however, disagree on the effect of such exploitation on corporate profitability. Marx viewed the reduction of black amd female employment restrictions as profitable to capitalists since such a move increased the labor supply and thus depressed wages and led to an increase in profits. A labor market segmentation approach is consistent with the theories that discriminatory practices exist since those benefiting the most from capitalism thrive from segmenting the labor force according to racial and gender categories, and that most of the white male labor force is economically hurt by discrimination in the labor market.

The costs of capitalist agriculture: a challenge for radical political economy

Article Abstract:

The author suggests that agricultural economics is overlooked by many economists, and that modern capitalism has lead to a reduction in farm labor and only average production yield. He also asserts that capitalist agribusiness represents a serious threat to the ecology due to the use of chemical fertilizers, the use of genetically altered foods and the erosion of the soil; another threat posed by the agricultural industry includes the hazardous work environment for food-production employees, and the threat to consumer health due to cut backs in government inspection of food products and lack of government regulation in the industry.

The politics of food: two cheers for agribusiness

Article Abstract:

This article discusses the 'Green Revolution' which introduced intensive farming methods such as high yield crops, mechanization, irrigation and the use of chemical fertilizers; all of which has increased the productivity of agribusiness. The auther discusses the reasons that this surplus of food has not eliminated hunger, asserting that the capitalist system does not benefit the majority of people since the new, capital intensive techniques are often cost prohibitive for many farmers and that the over-production of food causes a fall in prices which adversely effects farmers as well.